THE Penang government’s plan to build new islands in Penang south is much welcomed. As a resident there, I personally would like to see development in this area.

I find it unfair that the article by Ravinder Singh, Penang CM playing ‘wayang kulit’ over reclamation project on October 1, asks the federal government to reject the development that we need.

The author doesn’t seem to know how difficult it is to live as a fisherman. I worked as a fisherman when I was a teenager. Every day I had to go into the sea without knowing how much I will get.

Without a stable income, I couldn’t do financial budgeting. I had to depend on government’s subsidies just to survive as a fisherman. I almost lost my life during a shipwreck, floating in the open sea for hours, praying in the dark to be rescued.

Have Ravinder Singh experienced a shipwreck? If he had not, who is he to romanticise our job as fishermen as “guardians of the rich fishing grounds”?

I had to become a fisherman because I had no other job opportunity at that time – and nearly lost my life as a teen!

If Ravinder Singh really believes that the trade is so noble, he should learn and become a fisherman himself. He should walk his talk and be a “guardian of the rich fishing grounds”, as he so affectionately called it.

If he cannot walk his talk, then he should not sabotage the chance for us in the Penang south to have better choices in life. I can only wish that this project started many years ago so that by now we would be reaping its benefit.

Ravinder Singh said that he had not met a fisherman who supported the reclamation project. I can introduce him to my fishermen friends who are eager for the project to begin so that there will be better jobs and prospects for them and their children in Penang south. – October 2, 2019.

* Mohd Nasarudin Sultan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.